Published December 2000

EdCC builds stronger construction industry

It’s time to applaud Edmonds Community College for its construction management and building inspection classes, designed to provide more qualified employees for the building industry.

The chair of the college’s Construction Management Department, Ed van der Bogert, has spent the past four years doing something about that widespread problem. Since he left his own successful business for campus life, the EdCC program has grown dramatically, catching the attention of employers and employees alike.

“This is the only two-year program for construction management and building inspection degrees in Washington state,” he said. “There are scattered courses here and there and a number of four-year schools involved, but a two-year program (for working students) is pretty unique.”

Enrollment is growing, but the program is still not as well-known or used by the construction industry as it could be, he said. Marketing and promoting the classes are a big part of his job.

“We want to provide ... formal training in construction techniques, project management, communication, critical thinking and group leadership,” he said, noting that contractors want people with specialized knowledge and skills in building codes and inspections, contract documents, materials handling methods, structural systems, estimating, accounting and industry computer applications.

The need for this type of program has been emphasized by groups such as the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties, with 2,800 members employing more than 50,000 workers in the two counties. A year ago, the group identified the shortage of skilled workers across the board — including managers as well as laborers — as one of the five crises facing the region’s construction industry.

So EdCC focuses on course work that trains the people the industry needs, a program that’s good for both business and labor. To bring real-world experience to the classroom, instructors have industry backgrounds. Most of them are employed in fields they are teaching about.

The students are primarily employees in the construction business; those who pay for the courses are normally employers who want training for people assigned to new construction roles or those being groomed for management positions.

All of the courses are taught at night to accommodate student work schedules. Because the program is attuned to the changing needs of the industry, training is always being reviewed and refreshed. Topics vary broadly, from computers in construction to storm water and site drainage control, Internet estimating, an introduction to the Builders Exchange of Washington’s online plan center in Everett, design criteria and materials selection, structural concrete technology and building codes.

Students can take specific courses or enroll for a 45-credit Certificate in Construction Management or Building Inspection, or a 90-credit Associate of Technical Arts degree in construction management. Of the 171 students enrolled in the winter 2000 classes, most are employed full time and attending classes to advance their careers.

“We have a major commitment to technology, particularly computers (and) software ... giving students the computer skills and knowledge base to be able to know what’s happening in the Web world, to be able to manage the electronic environment in the construction field,” van der Bogert said.

More information about EdCC’s Construction Management program, its faculty, advisory board roles or corporate donations is available at www.edcc.edu/hhs/const.

The program is well worth the construction industry’s support.

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